"It wasn't what Dvalin was after. There was no gold or jewels just Sif's hair, you know the hair Loki cut off all those years ago?" said Sven.
Maggie laughed. "Of course," she cackled. "Thor's great treasure. Her hair obsessed him. Wasn't there anything else though?"
"Just a few bits and pieces, nothing important though," said Alex looking at his feet. He looked up at her. "Dvalin told us where the sword is we were just about to figure out how to get it when this happened," he said gesturing to Dvalin who was looking worse by the minute. "Can you help him?" he asked.
Maggie looked Dvalin over quickly and shook her head.
"He's too far gone, he won't have long now. He shouldn't be travelling through portals at his age. It's dangerous. Best you just make him comfortable and wait for him to croak it," she said bluntly. She stood up and looked at the group. "You are lucky he is the only one dying. You should never mess with a Volva's magic. I feel violated," she said glaring at them.
"Surely there must be something we can do?" asked Sven. Whilst he hadn't known Dvalin very long, he felt very guilty. The death of a dwarf hardly ever happened as they lived such long lives and this was his entire fault. He must have said the spell wrong.
"The only thing in the Nine Worlds that can save him is a golden apple but I can't see Iduna handing one over, she only gives them to the gods themselves," said Maggie.
"I'm a god, well half a god, would she give one to me do you think?" asked Alex.
"Possibly but you will have to go to Asgard and you will have to go alone. Only gods, demigods and Volvas may enter Asgard," said Maggie.
"No problem, it's worth a try," he said.
"Hang on guys. Are you forgetting something? The sword...saving the world and all that?" asked Pete.
"That's true Alex. I hate to say it but there are more lives at stake here. Dvalin has had a long life, perhaps its time for him to go," said Sasha quietly.
“Look, I am thinking that I will need one of the golden apples myself,” said Alex.
“If this sword really is cursed then I am going to need all the help I can get. Perhaps the apple could heal me, or at least give me a few more years to live.”
“That’s true,” said Sasha looking at Alex sadly.
"Ok tell you what, let's get back above ground, call Alan and we can see what the score is. If we have time we owe it to Dvalin to at least try. It's our fault he's lying there," said Alex.
"Ok, how do we get back up top though? I'm not going through another portal and risking my life," said Pete.
"I'll go on my own, you guys stay here and look after Dvalin," said Alex determined.
"But it's dangerous, we have done it too many times already," said Becca worried.
"He's a demi god, he'll be fine. His body is stronger than yours. Tell me Alex, have you ever been ill before?" asked Maggie standing in front of him.
"No, now that you mention it I can't remember ever being sick," said Alex.
"What? Not even a cold, you must have had a cold?" asked Matt amazed.
"No I haven't. The only time I took time off school was when I bunked off to get out of a test," he said. "I haven't really thought about it before, I just thought I was healthy and looked after myself," he said.
Becca came over to his side and touched his hand. "But you can get hurt, you cut your hand earlier remember. You are not entirely invincible."
Alex looked at the hand, which he had grazed when he fell out of the hole. There was nothing there, not even a scratch. He held it up and showed the others.
"Ok, now that's weird. Guess you are invincible dude," said Matt coming over to take a closer look.
"That settles it," said Alex. "I'm going to Asgard to get a golden apple. Maggie I don't suppose you could create a portal for me?" he said smiling at her hopefully.
"For you sweetheart...anything," she said winking.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," he said looking around at the others. Becca touched his arm, stood on tiptoes and kissed him quickly on the lips.
"Take care Alex and please be careful," she whispered to him. He squeezed her shoulder and smiled.
"Maggie can you send me home first so I can check on what's going on? I'll then need a lift to Asgard if everything is ok,” he said.
"I can send you home but you will have to call Heimdall to get to Asgard. Your friend Alan can show you how," said Maggie bumping into Becca and knocking her out of the way.
"Come on then handsome," said Maggie bending down and drawing a circle around him with the chalk.
"If you see my mum, let her know I'm ok," shouted Matt as Alex fell through the floor.
Chapter Eleven
Alex landed heavily on his feet and bounced up and down a few times on the rippling earth. He was getting the hang of portals now. He looked around and saw Alan, Nancy and a strange man lying flat on their backs next to the henge.
"What on earth?" cried Alan rolling over and jumping to his feet.
"Alan," shouted Alex. "It's me, Alex." Alan pushed his glasses up his nose and looked over. It was dusk and the light was fading fast.
"Alex? Thank Odin! Did you just come through a portal? One minute we were standing there talking about going to get a pint, the next the floor turns to jelly. It was most disconcerting I can tell you," said Alan shaking Alex's hand vigorously.
"Yes, yes that was me. I've been to Svartalfheim, I met Lit and he sent me to find Dvalin but I needed to come back here first to check on things. Maggie created a portal for me and here I am. Is everything ok?" Alex asked breathlessly.
"Slow down Alex," said Nancy coming over to where he was standing. "Cassie called us and confirmed our suspicions about who you are, a demigod eh?”
Alex nodded and looked embarrassed.
“She said you went to Svartalfheim. Do you have the sword?" asked Nancy.
"The sword?" asked Alex. Nancy raised her eyebrows. "Oh the sword," he exclaimed. "No, not yet but I know where it is. So much has happened, I don't know where to start. To be honest there is no time for that anyway. I need to get to Asgard and find Iduna. I need a golden apple."
"Oh my goodness, are you sick?" asked Alan looking at Alex worried.
"No, I'm fine, couldn't be better. It's Dvalin, he's dying and I need to get a golden apple for him to save his life."
"Dvalin," said Alan excitedly. "I didn't think he would be still alive after all this time. No one has heard from him in years."
"Well he won't be soon unless I get an apple for him. He's in a really bad way and it’s our fault. He had to go through a portal with us and it was too much for him. It was that or we did it wrong, I don't know. We didn't have a Volva with us so it was a bit of guess work."
"Alex that is so dangerous, you could have died," said Nancy shocked.
"Is my son ok?" asked the strange man.
"Your son?"
"This is Magnus, Pete's father," explained Alan.
"Oh right, yeah he’s fine. He's a bit worried about his health. We've been through a few portals you see and didn't know it was dangerous. No one said anything. That's why I'm on my own, they will have to come back the long way," said Alex.
"But it's dangerous for you too Alex," said Alan.
"Well I figured I would be ok. I have never been ill in my life. Also I cut myself down there and it healed in no time at all. I guess I have a few immortal genes in me," said Alex grinning.
"Alex what about the sword, where is it?" asked Magnus.
"Oh some dragon has it. Nid something or other I can't remember. I'll go get it after I have the golden apple. Well providing Hel isn't about to break loose here. It looks like you have everything under control," said Alex looking around at the henge.
There were wisps of smoke seeping from a large crack in the central stone and it was drifting across the grass slowly but he couldn't see anything else sinister.
"Well we have had a few hairy moments but we think Baldur is getting a grip on things down there and the prayers our
end seem to be working. Nothing has come through for a day now and there have been no noises," said Alan glancing back at the henge.
"Great, I have time then. I need to get to Asgard quickly. Maggie said you would show me how to get there," said Alex.
"No Alex, you need to get the sword, the breach could happen at any time," said Magnus.
"But Dvalin.."
"Dvalin is an old dwarf, it’s his time. You have a responsibility to seal the breach or we could all die. You need to look at the bigger picture Alex. I’m sure Dvalin will agree," said Magnus.
"No I promised I would help him and I have a really strong feeling we need him. He cursed the sword and even though he said it couldn't be undone I'm sure he could find a way," said Alex.
“In any case I need a golden apple too. If Dvalin can’t break the curse then I will need to prolong my life as best I can.”
"This is wyrd," said Alan nodding his head. "Alex it's your fate, the Norns are weaving a complicated web for you and this is an important part. I agree we need you to save Dvalin. Getting a golden apple is going to be difficult though. Iduna won't just hand one to you easily."
"I figured she would give one to me, you know me being a demigod and all," said Alex puffing out his chest. He was beginning to enjoy his new status.
"Yes but she will expect you to eat it yourself. She won't be happy if she knows you gave it to a dwarf. It will upset the natural balance, it's already bad enough that Lit is immortal," said Alan.
"Well I won't tell her if you won't. It will be our little secret," grinned Alex.
"Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you. The wrath of a god is certainly not something you should take lightly but if it's the only way to save Dvalin I guess we don't really have a choice," said Alan.
"Great now we have settled that, how do I get to Iduna? Maggie said I would need to call Heim someone or other," said Alex excited at the thought of going to Asgard.
"Heimdall," said Nancy. "He is the guardian of Bifrost, the bridge which connects our world to Asgard."
"Ah he's been in the films. Big guy with a sword, he's blind but can see everything," said Alex nodding his head.
Nancy muffled a laugh. "Alex the Avengers films portrayal of the gods is not entirely accurate. Alan has been dying to set them straight for ages but everyone would start to wonder where his intel came from."
"You will see what she means when you get to Asgard. Heimdall will be here soon, he would have heard us talking about him," said Alan looking up into the sky. It was starting to get dark and Alex's stomach grumbled loudly.
"When did you last eat Alex?" asked Nancy.
"Ages ago, I'm starving," he said rubbing his stomach.
Nancy swung a rucksack off her shoulder and dug inside. She pulled out a container filled with sandwiches.
"Here have these, I made them for us to have later but we can go to the pub once you are gone and our replacements arrive," she said opening the container and handing it to Alex.
"Your replacements?" asked Alex as he jammed half a sandwich into his mouth.
"Henge Guardians," said Nancy. "You saw them that first night when we held the ceremony. We have been taking it in turns to watch over the henge and say prayers in case anything else comes through. We have managed to exorcise the ones who did slip through and who possessed some of the locals. We returned the souls to Hel."
"Exorcise? How did you do that, get a priest to say a prayer?" asked Alex.
"We killed the hosts," said Magnus bluntly. "They were too far gone. Their own souls had been taken over and couldn’t return. It was the kindest thing to do."
Alex looked stunned, this was far more serious than he had expected. People had lost their lives. He suddenly lost his appetite and he handed the box of sandwiches back to Nancy.
"Look," said Alan pointing up.
Alex looked up and saw a streak of white light flash across the dusky blue sky. The light was heading straight towards them and as it got closer Alex could make out the shape of a huge white horse with a flowing golden mane and a giant man sitting astride it. The horse swept down from the sky and skidded to a halt near the henge kicking up large clods of grass. The man kicked the horse in the sides and it trotted over towards Alex. When it was two paces away the man jumped down off the horse and grinned. He was incredibly tall and broad shouldered. He had long black hair pulled back at the nape of his neck and his teeth were pure gold. A huge horn and a long sword in a plain scabbard were attached to a thick leather belt around his waist.
"Nephew," he roared enveloping Alex in a big bear hug. "You are the talk of Asgard, quite the gossip," he said still grinning widely. Alex stared at him in awe speechless. This giant of a man was his uncle!
"Heimdall, welcome old friend," said Alan, greeting him warmly. "It's been a long time."
"Indeed it has. Quite the situation you have yourself here," said Heimdall looking around at the henge. "Hello Nancy, Magnus,” he said nodding in their direction. “That devil Loki must be behind it. Wherever there is trouble he'll be there, stirring it all up. He has always wanted to rescue Hel. Odin knows why, she's an ugly duckling if ever there was one," he said laughing.
"We were beginning to think it was Loki," said Alan reaching out to stroke the horse. It lifted its head and snorted loudly. "Easy Gulltoppr," he said soothingly.
"Oh it's Loki alright. Thor is looking for him now. I've told him to call me when he finds him. This will be the most fun this millennium," said Heimdall rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
Alex stood still feeling completely out of his comfort zone. He was standing in a field with a horse, which just flew out of the sky and a god, a real, full sized, giant of a god and to top it all off, this god was his uncle! It was quite a lot to take in and he had no idea what to say or do so he just stood there quietly.
"Heimdall we need a favour. Alex here needs to get a golden apple from Iduna," said Alan looking at Alex and winking. "We need to make sure he has as much protection as possible for when he gets the sword which will close this portal."
"Protection?" asked Heimdall. "Protection from what?"
"The dragon Niddhogg," said Alex speaking up. Heimdall snorted and shook his head.
"Niddhogg has the sword? Well good luck with that nephew."
"Is Niddhogg really that bad?" asked Alex.
Heimdall nodded slowly and Alex looked at the others. He started to panic when he saw the look of horror on Alan, Nancy and Magnus' faces.
"Imagine the worst tempered creature in existence, the one which would give even Odin nightmares, then times that by ten, well that's Niddhogg," said Heimdall looking at Alex seriously. "He is so evil the only way we can control him is to feed him souls. Only the very worst souls will keep him quiet, the most evil, disgusting, terrifying souls imaginable. It's probably what makes him so foul tempered. Nothing can get past him and if he has your sword, there is no chance he will let you have it. He will snap you in two and suck out your soul before you know it."
Alex stood horrified with his mouth wide open.
"Ok that has totally just freaked me out. Dvalin didn't mention anything about that. I mean he said he was bad but I didn't think he would be that bad," said Alex feeling sick to the bottom of his stomach.
"Dvalin, that old dwarf, is he still alive? Last I heard he was rooting around in Ostleheim trying to get into Thor's treasure room. He has been obsessed with it for years. Thinks there is some elixir in there which will enable him to go into the daylight," Heimdall laughed.
"It wasn't there," blurted out Alex.
Heimdall looked at him keenly. "I know," he said. "Thor told me ages ago. I was going to tell Dvalin but it's been quite a laugh watching him...what?" he asked looking around at their incredulous faces. "We need something to keep us amused. Now that we can't mingle with humans we need something to keep us busy."
"Are you even allowed here?" asked Alex. "I thought all of the gods were banned from visiting."
"Only if
I am called. I wouldn't normally ride Gully across the sky like that, it tends to freak people out and they report me to NASA as some sort of alien spacecraft," snorted Heimdall. "I've been looking out for you though and waiting for you to call me. I figured you would want to meet your father at some point. That will have to wait until he has found Loki though. That rogue needs to be dealt with once and for all."
"Can you take me to Asgard though? I really need to see Iduna and get a golden apple," asked Alex.
"Right, yes, for 'protection'," said Heimdall. "You do know I can see and hear everything?"
Alex gulped and looked at Alan in a panic. Alan shrugged his shoulders.
"So you know about Dvalin then? Why did you ask if he was alive if you know he is close to death?" asked Alex confused.
"I was testing your honesty. You failed by the way. Only joking nephew," he laughed when he saw Alex's crestfallen face. "We all would have done the same. Saving a friend is a worthy cause and I will be happy to help. I'm not sure you'll persuade Iduna though. She's a bit distracted at the moment. Odin knows why, she's normally really easy going but she snapped my head off yesterday. Anyway she might talk to you, you are the newest celebrity after all. Take my advice and keep out of Sif's way though. She's pretty mad at Thor for cheating on her with your mother."
"I'll go straight to Iduna, get an apple and will head straight back to Ostleheim," promised Alex.
"Come on then, you'll have to ride behind me," said Heimdall jumping back into the saddle easily. He reached down and grasped Alex's arm and pulled him up behind him.
"Alan, can you call Matt, Becca and Sasha's parents and tell them they’re ok? They’ll wait with Dvalin until I return. We'll then have to figure out how to get them back without using a portal," said Alex settling in behind Heimdall on the large horse.
"Of course, leave it with me. We'll think of a way to get them back whilst you are gone," said Alan.
"Hold on tight nephew, this will be a bit bumpy," Heimdall called over his shoulder.
Alex grasped Heimdall's belt tightly and squeezed his thighs tight against the horse’s sides. This was his first time on a horse and he held on for dear life. Heimdall kicked with his legs and Gulltoppr strode off across the field. After three strides he bunched up his hind legs and launched himself into the sky. Alex swayed back and gripped harder. The ground fell away beneath them quickly as they soared into the night sky. Alex looked down and could barely make out the others waving up at him. He did not dare let go and wave back, he continued to hold on tightly to the belt. The wind rushed past his face and made his eyes water so much that he couldn't see.
The Cursed Sword (The Nine Worlds Trilogy Book 1) Page 14
